Bail lowered for man charged with assaulting medic, cop

CHESTER — Bail was lowered for an Upland man charged with assaulting a Crozer medic and a police officer inside of an ambulance March 12, but his family says they still can’t come up with enough money to spring him from the county jail.

Darren Scott, 48, of the first block of Main Street, remains behind bars at Delaware County prison charged with assaulting a police officer, aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest, despite his attorney’s request that he be released on unsecured bail.

Defense attorney Enrique Latoison made the request to Magisterial District Judge Spencer Seaton Wednesday, saying Scott was not a threat to anyone and had strong ties to the community. He also noted that his client suffered a punctured lung when he was Tased by a police officer in the ambulance.

“He is a family man who is very involved with his church,” Latoison told Seaton during a brief proceeding in which Scott’s preliminary hearing was continued.

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Noting that the charges against Scott involved his alleged attack on a police officer and medic, Seaton instead lowered bail to 10 percent of $15,000. As a condition of bail, Scott is prohibited from having any contact with law enforcement.

Scott was arrested on March 12 after he allegedly assaulted a female medic and Officer William Casey while he was being treated after suffering an apparent seizure, Latoison said.

Police were called to 2J’s sandwich shop on Highland Avenue at about 11:51 a.m. March 12 to assist paramedics with a person having a seizure. While Casey was en route, he was notified that medics needed police assistance because the person being treated had become extremely combative, according to the affidavit of probable cause.

Casey arrived to find the male, later identified as Scott, being assisted by medics on a stretcher in the ambulance. The patient was “being highly irate, irrational, combative and using foul language,” according to the complaint. The officer told the man to relax and let the medics do their job and that they were there to help him.

Scott, according to the affidavit, continued to thrash out inside of the ambulance. He allegedly ripped the blood pressure collar off of his arm and unbuckled himself from the stretcher. Despite attempts to coax him back to the stretcher, Scott continued to act out inside of the ambulance, the court document indicates.

He allegedly kicked medic Ramona Rucolo in the chest, knocking her back into the rear doors of the ambulance. Casey tried to grab Scott, who allegedly struggled with the officer, grabbing his facing and shoving him backward.

Casey attempted to subdue Scott with his Taser, but only one prong deployed, causing Scott to become even more irate, according to the affidavit. The officer, believing he was possibly dealing with a person under the influence of narcotics, called for backup. Casey continued to struggle with Scott, who eventually subdued him with a second stun from the Taser, the affidavit states.

Other police officers and a supervisor for the medics arrived and were able to place handcuffs on Scott.

Two other people, another medic and a medic in training, witnessed the incident.

Scott allegedly continued to act out until he arrived at Crozer-Chester Medical Center. Once there, he became subdued and complied with police and medical commands.

While in the emergency room, Scott said he “didn’t like being tazed,” and didn’t mean to be as irrational as he had been, according to the complaint. The ER doctors allegedly told the officer that if Scott had a seizure he should not have been able to remember the incident.

After the incident, Scott spent four days at Crozer-Chester Medical Center, then was transferred to the infirmary at Delaware County prison. He was placed in the general population on Tuesday.

Authorities have subpoenaed Scott’s medical records, as well as blood and urine toxicology results.

Pastor Keith Collins, of the Church of the Overcomer, called what occurred to Scott an “unbelievable travesty of justice.”

“Darren is a young man who went into a hoagie shop to purchase a sandwich and then had a grand mal seizure,” Collins said. “He didn’t want to go in an ambulance, they physically forced him into the ambulance.”

Collins and Latoison said that when the Taser was deployed, it hit Scott in such a way that it caused fragments to pierce his lung.

“They had to operate to get them out,” Latoison said.

Scott’s wife, Precious Scott, said she was unaware that her husband had a seizure disorder. She expressed concern about his health, noting he’s lost a significant amount of weight since his arrest.

Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said the police officer acted appropriately.

“It appears this officer acted in accordance with acceptable police standards,” Whelan said after reading the criminal complaint, which notes the officer believed Scott was not having a seizure, but “having a narcotics issue.”

“Seizure or not, you can’t hurt the medic,” Whelan added. “The police officer can use reasonable, nondeadly force to subdue that individual.”

Available online court records show Scott has had run-ins with law enforcement in Delaware, Chester, Dauphin and Philadelphia counties dating back to 1982, including a prior conviction for resisting arrest. There are also two outstanding cases filed against Scott, both citations issued by Upland police in November 2013. One is for retail theft and another is for public drunkenness.